


Taste Test

by Kiraly



Series: Kiraly's Hipster Band AU [2]
Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hipsters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 07:31:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7036675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emil is bored at his job as an ice cream server. Lalli makes a nice distraction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taste Test

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tamaerchen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamaerchen/gifts).



> I did a giveaway on Tumblr for my birthday (because hey, any excuse to write or draw things for the lovely people in my life). Tamaerchen requested something at the cuteness level of _Before It Was Cool_ , my ongoing Hipster Band AU, and mentioned liking Emil and Lalli. WELL. Conveniently, I have a TON of Emil/Lalli ideas kicking around for a fic about them in the same setting as BIWC, but I haven't been letting myself work on it until I actually finish the main story. Since this scene doesn't precisely fit with the others I have planned and also doesn't really spoil anything from upcoming chapters of BIWC, I decided I could get away with writing it.
> 
> You probably don't have to have read _Before It Was Cool_ before you read this, by the way.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like it Tamaerchen!

Emil checked the time on his phone again. Two whole minutes closer to the end of his shift. He sighed and leaned his elbows on the counter, not caring that if anyone saw him he’d catch hell. It was a quiet night, and the only other person here was his coworker. She was in the back mixing a batch of the newest flavor, whistling off-key. Emil didn’t mind watching the front of the ice cream shop by himself, but it was so _boring._ It was a relief when his phone buzzed with a new message.

 

_Conversation between Lalli Hotakainen and Emil Västerström_

LALLI: when are you coming home

EMIL: Not for a while

EMIL: Have to wait until the last batch of ice cream is done

EMIL: It’s boooooring here

EMIL: What’s going on at home?

LALLI: ugh

LALLI: tuuri and the farmer

LALLI: being weird

EMIL: Uh

EMIL: ...

EMIL: Weird in what way?

LALLI: you know

LALLI: touching

LALLI: kissing

LALLI: talking

EMIL: Oh

EMIL: So basically like how they always are

LALLI: mrrh

LALLI: dont like it

EMIL: Well if you don’t want to hang out with them you could always go for a walk or something

EMIL: Or go down to your room I guess

EMIL: Didn’t you just get a new game? You could test it out so we can play when I get home

EMIL: Lalli?

 

_Conversation between Tuuri Hotakainen and Emil Västerström_

TUURI: Emil, have you heard from Lalli?

EMIL: …

EMIL: Isn’t he at home?

EMIL: He was just texting me

TUURI: No, he left an hour ago and didn’t say where he was going.

TUURI: I have no idea why, I only asked if he wanted to watch a movie with us.

TUURI: Apparently he sent Onni a text that just said “mrrh” and then didn’t answer when Onni asked what was wrong.

TUURI: So now Onni is freaking out and keeps calling me.

EMIL: Oh

EMIL: That’s weird

EMIL: When I talked to him he made it sound like he was still with you and Reynir

EMIL: But then he went silent on me too

TUURI: …

TUURI: Well he isn’t here.

TUURI: Let me know if you hear anything, okay?

EMIL: Ok

 

Emil stared at the screen, trying to puzzle out what Lalli was up to now. It didn’t worry him that Lalli wasn’t responding to anyone; sometimes his roommate just got tired of talking. It _was_ a little odd that he’d made it sound like he was home when he was actually somewhere else. But knowing Lalli, there was a reason for that too, even if it wasn’t obvious to the rest of them. _He can take care of himself. He’ll get back in contact when he feels like it._

Still, Emil’s thoughts kept drifting to Lalli as his shift dragged on. Partly out of curiosity, but mostly because Lalli was a pleasure to think about. If someone had told Emil three years ago that he’d fall head-over-heels for a quiet, basement-dwelling computer programmer, he would have laughed in their face. But now, the thought of Lalli’s rumpled silver-blond hair and the tiny quirk to his mouth that meant he was amused made Emil’s heart flutter. He’d even caught himself composing lyrics about the way Lalli picked at his food or perched on the arm of the couch. For a while he’d managed to hide his interest, but subtlety wasn’t Emil’s strong suit. He’d been found out, and to his surprise Lalli had responded...well.

“Västerström! Quit mooning over your phone and come back here for a minute.”

Emil dragged himself out of a reverie involving Lalli’s fingers in his hair. “Sorry, I was just,” his brain caught up to what had been said, “coming!”

In the back room, Emil’s coworker waited with a cup and a spoon. She thrust it into his hands. “Here. Taste this.”

Emil scooped up a bite of ice cream—dark brown with swirls of something red, maybe raspberry?—and brought the spoon to his lips. It _did_ have raspberry, which married well with the dark chocolate base. There was another flavor too. “Mint?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s different. What are you going to call this one, Agneta?”

His coworker frowned. “I have no idea, I hate naming these damn flavors! This one’s on you.”

“What? But I don’t…” Emil wasn’t allowed to come up with new flavor combinations. Which was fine by him, because he didn’t have the first clue how to do that, and it spared him the embarrassment of using his creative gifts for something as lowly as ice cream. But apparently Agneta didn’t care about artistic integrity.

“Too late, you’re stuck with this. Tell you what, if you come up with a good name for it, I’ll let you leave early.”

Emil’s ears perked up. “Really?” He still had two and a half hours to go. If he could shorten that by even a few minutes…”It’s a deal.”

He went back to the front counter with ice cream in hand. Surely it couldn’t be _that_ hard to come up with a name. It was only ice cream.

Half an hour later, it was still only ice cream, because he had _no idea_ what to call it. He’d tried a few names out on Agneta, but she’d flatly refused all of them—”Chocolate Delight” was too generic, “Raspberry Cocoamint” was too on-the-nose and sounded like a mixed drink. By the time the shop bell rang to announce a customer, Emil was resigned to being stuck with the full two hours that remained of his shift.

“Welcome to the Creamatorium. Would you like to try a free sample of—Lalli!”

All thoughts of ice cream flavor names scattered to the winds. It was all Emil could do to stop himself from jumping over the counter. “Where have you been? Tuuri is really worried about you.”

Lalli approached the counter and rested his chin on his hands. “You mean Onni is. I accidentally texted him instead of you and now he won’t stop bothering me.”

“So you _know_ he’s worried and you’re ignoring him?” Emil asked.

Lalli shrugged. “I didn’t feel like talking. To him or Tuuri.” He reached for Emil’s hand where it rested on top of the counter, gently ran a finger from cuticle to wrist. Emil held himself still. Lalli traced patterns up and down his arm, and every brush of skin on skin sent a tingle down Emil’s spine. He had learned by now that Lalli’s touches were a sign of affection, and sometimes also a sign of willingness to be touched in return. Emil wasn’t sure what to call the _thing_ that was growing between them—like the ice cream, it was hard to name—but he did know that it worked better when he let Lalli act first.

Which wasn’t to say that Emil couldn’t act, too. He allowed Lalli to draw invisible patterns for a minute or so, then turned his arm over and offered his palm. Lalli met his eyes, grey-blue gaze searching, then stilled his hand on top of Emil’s. “What?”

“What have you been up to? I assumed you were at home, but Tuuri said you’ve been gone for hours.”

Lalli cocked his head to the side. “Oh. Just walking. Thinking. Getting away from people.”

Emil raised an eyebrow. “Getting away from Reynir and Tuuri and their movie night, you mean.”

Lalli scowled. “Right. It was loud at home, and...I wanted to see you.” He turned his hand to fit with Emil’s, locked their fingers together one at a time. “Do you have to stay long?”

Emil sighed. “Well, Agneta said I can go home early, but _first_ I have to name this stupid new flavor.” He glared at the cup of ice cream, which he’d stashed in the freezer case when it was clear it wasn’t going to do him any favors.

Lalli leaned closer to peer down through the glass. “What is it?”

Emil retrieved the dish and handed Lalli a spoon. “Here, try some.”

Lalli regarded the dark brown substance with a critical eye. He sniffed it, touched it to the tip of his tongue. Licked it again, leaving a smooth line. Then he stuck the spoon in his mouth and closed his eyes.

Silence. No expression on Lalli’s face. Emil held his breath.

Then Lalli’s eyes popped open and he set the spoon on the counter with a _clink._ “Mm. It could be better,” he said.

Emil agreed, but he wanted to know why Lalli thought so. “What does it need? I can’t figure it out.”

Lalli leaned closer. Emil assumed he was going to take another spoonful of ice cream. Instead, Lalli kissed him on the mouth.

Surprise kept Emil rooted where he was, despite Lalli’s cold lips. By the time Lalli started to pull away, Emil’s brain caught up— _this is happening he’s kissing me we’re kissing—_ and he managed to return the kiss before it broke. Lalli’s mouth warmed under his, and Emil tasted chocolate and hints of mint. _It’s a shame we can’t serve it to the customers like this,_ he thought, as Lalli tangled his fingers in Emil’s hair and tugged him closer, _because the flavor is so much better this way._

The kiss ended too soon. It also ended just in time for Agneta to emerge from the back room with a tub of the dark chocolate concoction. She eyed the two of them with a smirk. “Getting friendly with the customers?”

Emil could feel the blush spreading up from his neck, but he pretended it wasn’t happening. He smoothed his hair, and with as much dignity as he could muster said, “Uh, this is my roommate. Lalli, this is Agneta, she—”

“He’s not here to see me.” Agneta waved the introduction away. “Anyway, did you name the new flavor yet? Or do you want to stay here all night?”

Emil looked at Lalli. Lalli’s mouth twitched into his tiny smile; he licked a smear of chocolate from his bottom lip. “Actually,” Emil said, “I do have a name.” He grabbed a marker and a name card, jotted a few words, and handed the results to Agneta.

She read the card, glanced between him and Lalli again—definitely amusement in her expression, now—and nodded. “Good. People will buy this, if for no other reason than curiosity. Well, a deal’s a deal. Go ahead and let your ‘roommate’ take you home.”

Emil barely had time to shed his pink apron before Lalli grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. Then they were outside, past the shop windows and away from prying eyes. This time, no one’s lips were cold and Lalli’s mouth just tasted like Lalli.

When they paused to catch their breath, Emil said, “Do you think you can stand to go back to the house now? I’m sure those two will still be there, still wanting to watch a movie.”

Lalli ran his fingers through Emil’s hair and allowed his smile to show. “Yeah. It’ll be better if you’re there.”

Emil was blushing again, and he didn’t even care. “Oh. Well okay then.”

“So what did you name the weird ice cream?” Lalli asked.

Emil laughed. He reached for Lalli’s hand, knit their fingers together and tugged in the direction of home. “You inspired me. What else could I call it but ‘Midnight Kiss’?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I've had dark chocolate ice cream with mint, and I've had dark chocolate ice cream with raspberries. I have no idea if dark chocolate ice cream with mint _and_ raspberries would be any good, but it would probably be hard to come up with a good name for it.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Is that a tub of ice cream or are you just happy to see me?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11213412) by [Minutia_R](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minutia_R/pseuds/Minutia_R)




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